Jim Collum's Top 10 in 2003

Portfolio by Jim Collum

12/17/2003

2003 has been a very productive year for me
photographically. Every one of my top 10 images was shot with the Canon
1Ds and the 90mm T/S
lens. All but one (Elkhorn Slough) was stitched by using adjacent frames
taken by shifting the Tilt/Shift lens (resulting in a 22Mp final image).
All images were taken in the early morning light, usually before the
sun has risen above the horizon. Since most were taken with an aperture
of F22 or smaller, the exposure time is anywhere from ½ second
to 10 seconds.

Most of my printing in the past few years has been digital inkjet.
In October, I began experimenting with Platinum/Pigment prints. To
do this, I start with a color image. After converting to CMYK, I use
the K (black) channel to print a digital negative, the size of the
final print (typically 8x10-11x14). I then use the color information
(CMY channels), and print them onto watercolor paper. I coat this paper
with sensitized platinum salts, and then register the negative onto
the color layer. After exposing to ultraviolet light, I process it.
The final image is a mix of traditional platinum and new pigments.
I could not have accomplished this in the amount of time I did without
the help of Dan Burkholder’s book: Making Digital Negatives for
Contact Printing (see note at the end).

Spring Chaos, 1ds, 90 mm T/S, Henry Cowell State Park, California

This is one of my first images with the 1ds using the stitching method
that most of my work is now comprised of. This was taken in the early
morning light at Henry Cowell State Park, in Felton, California.
The buds had just started opening. Having spent a good deal of my
childhood in southern Ontario, Canada, it still jolts me to find
spring arriving in the middle of January here in Santa Cruz.

Elkhorn Slough, 1ds, 90mm T/S

As I find with most images on the web, they barely do justice to the
printed version (which is why I believe the web will not replace physical
galleries in the near future). This b/w image is an example of the
ability of a digital camera to equal the quality of traditional b/w
images. I’ve printed this on platinum, and I don’t believe
anyone could look at the final print and say. this is digital.

I have spent over a year photographing this beach, and it’s
abstract forms. There’s an organic quality to the rocks that
makes you feel as though you’Ave waken up on some alien world.
The mood of these forms can vary from peaceful to frightening.

Abstract; 1ds, 90mm T/S; Pebble Beach, California

Abstract;
1ds, 90mm T/S; Pebble Beach, California

In July of this year, I spent a short period of time at a cement factory
on the California coast. Most of my work has to do with form, color
and texture. This location provided me with plenty of that. The subject
matter is also what prompted me to start printing with platinum/pigments.
Although I’Ave printed the series in inkjet, the depth and
tonality of the platinum/pigment prints far surpasses them.

Cement Factory, 1ds, 90mm T/S, California Coast

Cement Factory, 1ds, 90mm T/S, California Coast

Cement Factory, 1ds, 90mm T/S, California Coast

Cement Factory, 1ds, 90mm T/S, California Coast

Cement Factory, 1ds, 90mm T/S, California Coast

I picked up Dan Burkholder's book, Making
Digital Negatives for Contact Printing, a couple of years ago, and it sat on a shelf. This
fall, I decided to try making platinum prints. so out came his book.
With his book, I was able to produce good quality platinum prints in
the first weekend. Without the information in the book, and curves he
provides as a starting point, I'm sure it would have been many long and
frustrating weeks to accomplish what I did in that weekend. If you are
planning on trying out traditional silver or platinum prints from your
digital images, then you absolutely need this book. I'm not associated
with Dan at all, just a very happy customer.